Coming home

my time here is almost done. The weather took a turn for the worse or
better, whichever way you look at it - 3 days of rain! Not enough for
the farmers here, but better than nothing. Now the sun is out again
and it is pleasantly warm. Yesterday we had a day of treats, at least
the women of our team. We went to the hammam - Turkish Bath - in
Nablus, a beautiful old building in classic middle eastern style. We
sat among the beautiful red drapes and multi-coloured water pipes,
drinking mint tea and watching the women enjoying each other's
company. After our visit there we met out male colleagues and walked
up to the University to meet Ala Abu Dheer, head of Public Relations
there. He invited us for lunch to thank us for the work we have done
with students there in English. Many of these students have befriended
me on facebook and are very interesting young people. We ask Ala if he
is well. He tells us that as long as he can sleep in his bed without
soldiers in his room and there is no curfew, he counts his blessings.
Ala himself loves to talk. Today he entertains us with a wonderful
narrative about how he and one colleague stood up against a whole mob
who wanted to burn down the French cultural centre in Nablus,
following the publication of the notorious Danish cartoons in a French
newspaper. He has written a book of oral history, interviewing
refugees in the city who fled from Jaffa and other places of pre-1948
Palestine. It is very moving and reveals a range of different stances
towards what is now Israel.

We return to Yanoun carrying bagfulls of gifts for the 7 families of
Upper Yanoun, amongst whom we have lived so happily for almost three
months. All the men of the village are gathered round a lit brazier.
The only thing that is missing is the beer! Of course that is "haram"
- forbidden by Allah. Rashed, our mayor, has broken his foot, slipping
over on uneven ground. So he is sitting outside his house a lot with
various visitors. Otherwise things continue much the same. The sheep are taken out to graze on the lean pickings available. The chickens
peck happily in the newly damp ground. The children gather for the 7am
bus to school. An old team of internationals leave, a new one arrives
- new strange names to learn, stories to be told and retold.

There is so much I will miss. Adjusting to life back home might take
time, although one of my first pleasures will be a slice of cheese on
toast! Cooking cheese, sliced bread and grills are uncommon here. I
have learned so much from these people. They struggle day by day to
survive. The occupation provides a constant backdrop and its effects
are always visible in the people. Every morning they watch the skyline
for activities on the hill where the illegal Israeli settlements are.
We have had a couple of visits from Itamar security in the last week
or so - 20 year olds, not in uniform, carrying large guns, walking
past people's houses, frightening the children. There are some
children here that still cannot look us in the eye or smile, because
they remember negatively their encounters with "foreigners", seeing
their fathers beaten and guns being pointed at them. Movement is
restricted. It is rare for anyone here to go further than Nablus - 20
kilometres away. It's as if the whole place collectively holds in its
breath.

The rain has made the olive trees glossy and green. As the weather
brightens some of us take an envigorating walk towards the jordan
Valley. The hills of Jordan are visible in front of us. This place is
utterly beautiful, a landscape barely changed since biblical times -
apart from the incongruous red roofed boxes on the hill tops.

I am determined to do whatever I can when I return to Britain to end
the madness which is this occupation and work for a just peace for all
the people I have met.